Prior to leaving for Australia, there was a lot to get done. Midterms were coming up, and there was not a lot of time to do any substantial traveling before my long trip down under. I wasn’t completely swamped despite the impending exams, and I did find time to have a little fun during the two weeks before leaving. One of the weekends I found time to take a day off and go on a “party boat” all Saturday in a bay right off of campus. For about $30 each, about 40 of us exchange students rented a boat and were able to eat, drink, and play in the sun all day. It was the first sunny day that I could remember, and we all felt very fortunate for the nice weather. Hong Kong has been in its rainy season, so there are entire weeks that have been going by here that are grey and cloudy. The boat trip day however was sunny, warm, and beautiful. Very lucky indeed.
As I continued to study, go to class, and stress out about three group projects, I also found time the next weekend to visit Shenzhen again and get some nice massages. We found a Groupon for a spa that was giving 1.5 hour messages + 2 other 45 min services (I choose a shoulder massage and a leg massage) for only about $25 dollars, so it was a must buy. I went with the same group of people I usually travel with (Grace, Nima, Geroge, Eli) and we left the next morning after a very long and fun Friday night in central Hong Kong. The massages were amazing, and everyone who had the chance to work out my kinks in my muscles commented on my height, the size of my hands and feet, and surprisingly my eyelashes. It was a fun cultural experience.
The two weekends proceeding Australia however were nothing compared to the experiences that I had while I was actually in Australia. I took the opportunity to see a country that I have always wanted to visit, see Jacque who I had been missing, and do it for a good, extended amount of time (10 days). The flight over to Australia nearly broke 1k, but that was just the start to my experience in the absolute most expensive place I have ever been to in the world. Honestly, Australia makes Chicago seem cheap. Combine the fees there with what I am used to paying in Hong Kong, and I was in shock when I finally landed: $4 cans of coke in vending machines, $35 on average dinner entrees at places that couldn’t even pass as fancy, hotels that charge 10 dollars for 30 min of internet usages. It was crazy!!!! Who the hell says that'll be $1 when you ask for ketchup at a restaurant??? I'll tell you who, Australians. I did however budget the hell out of the trip in the end, which I am very happy about.
The journey started on a Thursday night. I packed my bags and headed to the Hong Kong airport for a very late midnight flight. Fortunately, I was able to sleep for about 80% of the flight, and it flew by despite the constant turbulence sleep disturbances. When I landed it was a beautiful day at around noon in Sydney, and Jacque was there at the airport waiting for me. We were both so excited to see each other and basically hugged for a good 10 minutes after baggage claim before we hoped on the train to go downtown.
As I continued to study, go to class, and stress out about three group projects, I also found time the next weekend to visit Shenzhen again and get some nice massages. We found a Groupon for a spa that was giving 1.5 hour messages + 2 other 45 min services (I choose a shoulder massage and a leg massage) for only about $25 dollars, so it was a must buy. I went with the same group of people I usually travel with (Grace, Nima, Geroge, Eli) and we left the next morning after a very long and fun Friday night in central Hong Kong. The massages were amazing, and everyone who had the chance to work out my kinks in my muscles commented on my height, the size of my hands and feet, and surprisingly my eyelashes. It was a fun cultural experience.
The two weekends proceeding Australia however were nothing compared to the experiences that I had while I was actually in Australia. I took the opportunity to see a country that I have always wanted to visit, see Jacque who I had been missing, and do it for a good, extended amount of time (10 days). The flight over to Australia nearly broke 1k, but that was just the start to my experience in the absolute most expensive place I have ever been to in the world. Honestly, Australia makes Chicago seem cheap. Combine the fees there with what I am used to paying in Hong Kong, and I was in shock when I finally landed: $4 cans of coke in vending machines, $35 on average dinner entrees at places that couldn’t even pass as fancy, hotels that charge 10 dollars for 30 min of internet usages. It was crazy!!!! Who the hell says that'll be $1 when you ask for ketchup at a restaurant??? I'll tell you who, Australians. I did however budget the hell out of the trip in the end, which I am very happy about.
The journey started on a Thursday night. I packed my bags and headed to the Hong Kong airport for a very late midnight flight. Fortunately, I was able to sleep for about 80% of the flight, and it flew by despite the constant turbulence sleep disturbances. When I landed it was a beautiful day at around noon in Sydney, and Jacque was there at the airport waiting for me. We were both so excited to see each other and basically hugged for a good 10 minutes after baggage claim before we hoped on the train to go downtown.
I was able to see the famous Opera House for a little bit as we passed by on the train before we got further away, heading towards Jacque’s University. The train stop was far away from where she was living (a student housing area of little cookie cutter houses called the village), and I quickly became accustomed of complaining about the hike throughout the rest of the trip (:
I dropped my bags off and then changed to go back downtown where Jacque took me on a setting sun afternoon cruise in the Sydney Harbor which was fantastic and gorgeous. Afterwards we walked around for a bit and got up and close to the Opera House that I have been seeing in pictures my whole life up until now. I was still in awe of the city and the fact that I was actually in Australia and it all took a while to sink in.
The next day (Saturday) we woke up and went back into the city where Jacque showed me around to some new areas that we had not seen the day before. The weather was really nice again, and we enjoyed a beer and some food after visiting a bazaar type of market area where I bought some T-shirts and shot glasses to take home with me. After a long day we took the ferry back to the train station and spent the night at her place where we enjoyed drinks with her roommates and friends. That night we had to back however, as we were off to the Blue Mountains for two nights the next day.
Me enjoying a ten thousand dollar glass of light beer
Cassowary: most deadly bird in the world
The commute to the Blue Mountains was long, but the amazing train system in New South Wales made getting to the blue mountains super easy. Also, there was an awesome zoo that we had to check out on the way, so we decided to pay a visit to some pretty cool animals before our mountain adventures. A highlight of the zoo was seeing a Cassowary up close, one badass, dangerous bird. Also, we got to feed some baby kangaroos, hold some Koalas, and get up and close to hundreds of beautiful birds. one Cockatoo also let us rub his head.
emu
Cassowary
Jacque. Us enjoying a very healthy lunch
After we hoped back on the train and continued our way into the blue mountains, Jacque spotted the sign to our bed and breakfast / lodge as we pulled into our stop, so finding where we needed to be wasn’t difficult once we were off the train (however walking there was kind of a pain). It was a little too late to start a long hike once we got there and settled in, so instead we simply relaxed a bit and then left to go into the small nearby town to get some dinner. We ate a nice pub outside and had some delicious pasta and fish. We walked back to our rooms later, but not before heading outside later that night with a blanket and some pillows to go stargazing.
The next day we asked the very kind B&B owners where to go for a great hike, and they pointed us in the right direction. We had a glorious 3-4 hour hike on a trail called the National Pass Trail, and it took us by waterfalls, cliff sides, narrow stone steps, giant green trees growing alongside sleepy as well as rushing rivers, and everything else. The weather was once again perfect, and we enjoyed a fantastic lunch afterwards once we were tired, thirsty, and thoroughly satisfied.
We walked back to the train station after the hike, and decided there was enough time and we had enough energy to try to go to one more hiking spot where the famous Three Sisters rock formation was located. However, when we arrived in the town next to where it was (just two quick stops down the line), we were greeted with a little curve ball from mother nature. Apparently a controlled brush fire was no longer controlled, and was actually ragging and threatening nearby homes and businesses as it swept through the trails that we were trying to get to. We were told however that it should be controlled by the next day, and that we could most likely walk on the trails then. We decided to walk around the town instead and shop, and even went to Aldi to get some cheap grommet food for a nice dinner. We bought some nice mixed olives, cheese, crackers, wine, strawberries, raspberry and lemon tarts, and some other goodies. We brought it back to the B&B and ate outside as the sunset by the pool and then went swimming afterwards (or at the very least put our feet in, the pool was freezing cold).
Afterwards we once again took a blanket and some pillows outside to stargaze, but it was cloudy, a sign that the next day would most likely not bring us the weather that I was so fortunate to have the last couple of days.
Afterwards we once again took a blanket and some pillows outside to stargaze, but it was cloudy, a sign that the next day would most likely not bring us the weather that I was so fortunate to have the last couple of days.
The next morning we had some dark clouds, so we were pretty set on it raining on us at some point. We were able to leave our bags at the B&B however when we left to go back to the Three Sisters, and we mistakenly left our rainy / cold weather gear, taking our chances against the weather. We got to the Three Sisters around 11, but unfortunately the bush fire had not been controlled completely yet, and all the trails were still closed. That didn’t stop Jacque and I however. After staring at the marvelous Three Sisters and seeing the best view of the Blue Mountain yet, we took our chances against the closed trail signs and blockades and decided to hike them anyways. We found a little secret entrance if you will that wasn’t closed off, and enjoyed the trails by ourselves.
oh snap, fire...
After hiking for about an hour and a half, it started to look pretty fierce outside, and we picked up our pace a bit. Drizzle started to come down, and we could see a lot of large clouds at our altitude start to quickly come at us from the mountain valley. We started to rush to find an exit off the trails, and we did right as the clouds hit the ridge (clouds that I originally thought was smoke from the fire). The clouds hit with actual force, and it was cool and scary at the same time and super dense fog shot through the trees and roads right into us. It began to rain harder as we tried to make our way slowly back to a train station the next town over, and by the time we got to the town, we were drenched, soaking wet, and freezing. We enjoyed a tasty, yet expensive lunch at a café, and then had to brave the rain and wind again soaking as we ran to the train once we were done eating. Once we made it back to our B&B, we grabbed our things, changed into the warm clothing, and were lucky enough to be given some plastic trash to wear to protect us from the rain.
most un-impressive sounding instrument ever
classy as usual
We headed back to Sydney on a surprisingly very relaxing and fun train ride (Jacque and I played the game Tiny Wings on the iPhone for a while, a fun game that we became addicted to once the trip was over). We bought a stuffed turkey filled with apple stuffing and some potatoes for dinner which were delicious. That night we relaxed, but also had to pack quickly as we were going to Newcastle the next day!
The poor weather kept up with us the next day, which was probably the most uneventful of the days in Asutralia. We basically commuted all day, as we took a train north to Newcastle, and then found it hard to eventually get to the tea gardens (even more north and a bit east). We had to wait another two hours for a slow bus to take us there, and after adventuring the lovely beaches and shops of Newcastle and eating a fish and chips lunch, we eventually bused it to the Tea Gardens and arrived late at around 6pm. We decided that we were going to spend the night there, and then try to spend the next night in Nelson’s Bay instead of Newcastle the next night (which was the original plan). Nelson’s bay is south of the Tea Gardens, just a short ferry away, and it offered a lot more than Newcastle seemed to (plus we had already been there for a good 2-3 hours). We ate some tasty Thai food that night including Tom Kha soup, honey chicken and red curry, and gambled a bit in some slot machines that was attached to a country club near where we were staying (at which we were up one dollar at one point!)
The next day we hoped on a ferry over to Nelson’s bay, where we immediately went to the tourists office and met a wonderful woman named Liz who set us up with a really good room right down the road, and also gave us timetables for buses and trains that came in handy later. We decided to do a dolphin watching tour that day, and then booked ourselves for sand boarding the next. We got to see a few dolphins on the boat which was fun, and even the sun managed to peak its head out for us. Later we went for a sea front hike and laied on the beach while enjoying some rays and the nice swell of salt water. That night we ate pizza at a local place and were going to go into town and enjoy same bars, but Jacque got sick after dinner so we decided to stay in and watch some rugby and other shows instead.
Asian people love their photography as well
Dolphin!
7 years and still on
The next day was a big highlight of the trip. We packed our things and left early the next morning to catch a bus down to Anna Harbor, south of where we were staying in Nelson’s Bay. The sun was in full force, and nice whit puffy clouds specked the sky making it a perfect once again for us. We jumped in a van which drove us through some sand dunes until we were dropped off in front of our sand boarding hill. It was literally only Jacque and I on the hill (3 others joined for a bit later), and we had the wonderful scenery and hill all to ourselves. After sand boarding the safe way for a little bit (you sit down), we decided to spice things up and stand up on our boards and try to snowboard style down the hill. I was a lot more into it than Jacque was, although she had some nice wipeouts as well.
After getting back to Sydney, we cooked dinner and put on our pretty terrible costumes, although Jacque looked a lot better than I did. We had to buy some cheap props at a wholesaler, so I was some devil thing while Jacque was a red masked bird or something. It wasn’t that important to look that good though, and we just hung around her village that night drinking and celebrating the weekend.
The next day (2nd to last), we decided to go go into town and attend a beer festival, where we got to sample Australia’s best beers (many were very tasty) and also enjoy many street vendors giving out samples of chocolate, cheeses, hot sauces, and many other morsels (Jacque was in food heaven). That night we went into the city and went to a couple bars and then made it back late that night at around 3am.
We finished off the trip by waking up late, going to a movie called “Drive” (probably one of the best movies I have seen in a very long time), laying out in the sun, making a thick pasta dinner, and watching Toy Story 3 before bed. It was a nice finishing, relaxing day before leaving back to Hong Kong (most likely 20 pounds heavier as well).
Overall Australia was a ton of fun, and I can not wait to go back! I’m so glad I took the trip and went for the full 10 days. School is going to suck once I get back to campus, but at least I’ll have some more beautiful memories to help me space on in class easier. Thanks again Jacque for taking care of me throughout the trip as well.
Gooday Mate!
Upcoming - Taiwan on the 18th, Bali on the 15th of Dec.
Upcoming - Taiwan on the 18th, Bali on the 15th of Dec.
